It's No Hudson, but Landfill Will Do

By AL BAKER

Published: January 16, 2010

It might come to be called the Miracle at the Landfill.

A year to the day after the Miracle on the Hudson a pilot of a much smaller plane towing a banner to mark the anniversary of the crash made an emergency landing at the Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island on Friday, the authorities said.

The small plane, like its much larger cousin, experienced engine trouble in the skies over New York. Just like the landing last January, when every passenger survived, the lone soul aboard the Piper PA-18 Super Cub successfully landed the plane and survived, police and fire officials said.

The plane, owned by Smoketown Banners, is franchise aircraft of Air Sign, said Jaime N. Saint, who is one of the owners of Air Sign, which is based in Bronson, Fla. The plane experienced a mechanical problem while airborne over Staten Island about 12:30 p.m., and the pilot was forced to make his emergency landing in the landfill near Muldoon Avenue, officials said.

The pilot's name was unavailable.

Mr. Saint said the plane and the 4,000-square-foot sailcloth banner it was towing was to mark the first anniversary of Flight 1549's safe landing. The banner included a question and a reference to the Bible for the answer, he said.

''It said, 'If you died today, would you go to heaven or hell?' ''Mr. Saint said. ''On the end of the aerial billboard it said, 'John 14:6.' ''

He declined to identify the client who hired the plane and the banner. Practically speaking, he added, the pilot was fine. ''No injuries whatsoever,'' Mr. Saint said.

The pilot released the banner before ditching the plane on the dirt of the former landfill, the authorities said. The banner floated down to earth, landing partly atop some trees off the West Shore Expressway, between Exits 3 and 4. Officials have recovered the banner.

It was unknown whether any geese were involved. It was striking a flock of geese after takeoff that caused Flight 1549 to lose power in both engines and ultimately land in the Hudson River.

PHOTO: A small plane towing a banner to honor the emergency landing of Flight 1549 had one of its own. (PHOTOGRAPH BY MARY DIBIASE BLAICH FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)